Chapter Three
Funny how a literal super villain didn't fill Adrien with as much dread as his father's presence at the dinner table tonight did.
Adrien's pace slowed down a step as he entered the dining room, his father sitting at the opposite end of the table. The man didn't even look up at him, a tablet in one hand as he continued his work as he normally did when locked away in his office. The fact that he had come out when busy with such was not a point in Adrien's favor, who found his gaze shifting to anywhere but his father as he took his seat.
He knew his sneaking out of school again would not be tolerated, it hadn't gone well yesterday, but now that the moment was here he felt nothing but a heaviness. Tikki shifted in his pocket, and he had to force himself to keep composed as he lifted his gaze up towards his father– who still had yet to look at him.
"Hello, Father," he said slowly.
Gray eyes flickered towards him in acknowledgement, before returning back to his tablet without a word. Adrien's stomach tied itself in knots, and any appetite he might have had vanished as the chef brought out their meal. He just stared down at the plate as it was set before him, fork in hand, just poking at the meal as they ate in silence.
Nathalie stood off to the side of his father, giving Adrien what he guessed was supposed to be a reassuring smile, before focusing her gaze on her own tablet. He wondered if they were messaging each other at the moment, isolating themselves from Adrien as they always did, even when right in front of him. Adrien sighed softly, and felt Tikki poking at him. It was easy to sneak her a strawberry with no attention on him, yet the kwami still seemed stiff despite the food.
Dinner ended all too soon, their plates being cleared and Father at last pulling away from his work. He handed his tablet to Nathalie, standing up as he adjusted his tie, before looking down the table at Adrien. Yesterday he had been lectured through a video call, and while he wanted nothing more to be face to face with his father he didn't like it like this. He felt small in the moment, the distance between them not helping, but still he maintained eye contact as father and son stared at each other.
"So it seems you have had another little adventure today," Gabriel said, at last breaking the silence.
Adrien considered his words before speaking, but with the Miraculous in his ears he felt just a bit bolder. "Not really, sir, just working on my studies like usual."
"Don't talk back to me," Gabriel snapped. "I believe I made myself quite clear yesterday, yet you insisted on sneaking out again. Without your bodyguard, without informing me to where you were going. Recklessness that caused me unnecessary worry."
Gabriel paused, allowing him a moment to speak, but Adrien knew better than to take the bait. Anything he said would apparently be taken as talking back, and he saw no reason to dig the hole he was in deeper. When he got no response his father turned his back to him, voice somehow becoming colder.
"Your selfishness cost us both time and resources to locate you," he continued, and Adrien didn't see how– hadn't it been obvious where he was going? "All for a silly moment within a school. Tell me, Adrien, did you feel that your actions were warranted?"
"...You wouldn't have let me go otherwise," Adrien said softly. "I just wanted a chance to go and make friends, just like everyone else. Is that too much to ask for, Father?"
"Apparently so, considering that you didn't even bother to ask me," Gabriel snapped. "As tempted as I am to keep you out of that school as punishment for your actions, I feel that would only cause more trouble than it's worth."
Adrien whipped his head up, eyes wide in surprise at these words.
"This year will be a busy one for the Gabriel brand," his father said simply. "It would be more efficient if someone besides Nathalie were to take over your education, and Collège Françoise Dupont does have a good reputation. After some consideration I see no issue in you attending– which you would have been informed of if you hadn't run off."
"Father–" Adrien began, barely believing his ears, but a cold glance made him fall silent once more.
"Do not see this as a reward for your behavior, Adrien, I simply see that it will benefit you to be out of the house for a time. Your bodyguard will take you to and from school every day, and you will continue all your other activities. Nathalie will have your new schedule ready for you tomorrow."
"Thank you, Father," Adrien whispered– because this was the best news he had heard.
"There still will be consequences for your actions," Gabriel said. "You will give your phone to Nathalie, and the internet has already been disabled from your room. It will remain that way for as long as I see fit."
Normally such a punishment would leave Adrien completely cut off from the outside world he had, but right now he had no problems with accepting it– because he was going to go to school! He would see Chloe and Nino and Marinette again– and who knows who else he would be able to befriend! He wouldn't be completely isolated in his room either, now that he had a kwami resting in his pocket.
"I understand, sir," Adrien said, keeping his voice as even as possible, though on the inside he was bursting with excitement. Gabriel merely grunted in acknowledgement, turning to leave the room– and as soon as he was gone Adrien immediately broke into a grin.
Nathalie came and stood by his side, and he handed his phone over without complaint, leaping from his chair and hurrying up towards his room. As soon as they were out of sight Tikki came out, a frown on her face.
"He didn't say a word to you at dinner," she said, looking quite alarmed.
"Wasn't that much different than usual," Adrien said with a shrug. "He's never at dinner nowadays– and he's letting me go to school! Gah, this is the best day ever!"
He flopped onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a smile– not too bad of a week. Superpowers, school, friends, an actual meal with Father (even though technically he had been in trouble). He was grinning as he thought about going back to class tomorrow, not even needing to sneak out once more.
Tikki looked deeply troubled. "Adrien, that's not normal."
"We're not normal," he replied, flipping over onto his stomach, reaching for his remote. He tried the power button, but found the TV wouldn't turn on. He sighed, guessing that was part of his 'no internet' punishment as well, and placed it down.
"How often do you have meals with your dad? How often do you see him?"
Adrien paused, thinking, then shrugged. He looked over at Tikki once more, the little kwami looking down at him with her big blue eyes. He gave her a soft smile. "Dad's just going through a hard time right now, that's all. Ever since Mom left... he hasn't been the same. He just needs some space, and the best thing I can do is give that to him."
For some reason this didn't seem to ease Tikki's worry, her voice quiet. "...If anything you think he would keep you close after all that."
"He does, in his own ways," Adrien said with a shrug. "That's why he was so upset when he didn't know where I was, he was worried." He frowned. "Maybe I could have at least left him a note about where I was going..."
Tikki didn't reply, just flying down and nuzzling his cheek. Adrien was slightly surprised at this action, but the contact was comforting. He smiled as he leaned back, cupping her in one hand as the kwami held him close.
The week after Cameraman's attack and Monarch's message had been one of the longest weeks Paris could remember– everyone on edge as this new threat had made itself known. Marinette had found it so strange to see her and Crimson's face constantly on the news– people trying to make sense of the powers they had shown, and what exactly Monarch had wanted. All of their words had been dissected many times over, trying to understand this reality that had been thrown upon them.
Magic. Technology. Foreign forces. Aliens. Special effects– every theory out there had been put forward.
Marinette didn't know what to think every time Alya's video of her Cataclysm destroying the stadium played on TV. Because they didn't talk about it the same as they did Crimson's powers– in awe at what he could summon, and trying to understand the healing light he had released, the way the city had been fixed being shown over and over again.
But Marinette found that when Lady Noire's power was talked about it was when Monarch's was as well. The way the Butterfly could mind control and grant powers, and then the way her destruction razed the stadium– nobody looking at it as a good thing.
"We have no idea what any of these people want!" A reporter declared. "How can we just call these figures 'Protectors of Paris' when they could be potentially as dangerous as this 'Monarch'? They were not sanctioned by the government, these are vigilantes, vigilantes always have their own agenda. Do we have a means to stop them? Track them? We cannot walk into this blindly!"
Marinette cringed as she watched the video of the stadium crumbling for what felt like the hundredth time.
"We do not know what these people are capable of," the reporter continued. "But these... abilities are a threat we cannot ignore. One of them can control us, another can crumble buildings. Yes, one of these 'heroes' did heal, but does that mean they can all walk around freely?"
Marinette jumped as her father suddenly muted the TV. "Not worth it, Mari," he said, tapping her on the nose. "They're just showing the worst of the worst, what will make for the most dramatic news story."
"...What do you think about everything that's happening?" Marinette asked slowly, pushing herself away from the TV.
Tom paused, thinking about this. "...It's amazing, but frightening at the same time. I think the press is being too hard on the heroes though– they stepped in to protect us when they didn't have to."
"Do you think they'll do a good job?"
Tom chuckled. "Did you see what Crimson Beetle was able to do? It was like nothing ever even happened– I have a feeling we're in good hands. Now how about we talk about something else? How is school going?"
Marinette wasn't quite ready to drop the topic of heroes– but it was refreshing to think about something else, even as she twisted the ring on her finger. "It's been a good year so far, Papa."
"Even with Chloe in your class again? We can move you to another class if we need to."
"Chloe's still Chloe," Marinette said with a shrug. "But I'm really happy with a lot of my classmates this year. I've already told you a lot about Alya, but she's absolutely awesome. Adrien's really nice, and I've been having lunch with them and Nino, getting to know them a bit better. Mylene is in my class again, and so are–"
"Adrien's nice, hmm?" Tom said with a grin. "Tell me more about this 'Adrien'."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "He's just a friend, Dad, knock it off."
He opened his mouth to say something– when his eyes widened. His voice became a lot more tense, pushing himself to his feet. "Marinette, go up to your room."
"Dad?"
"There's another akuma," he said, guiding her towards the stairs. "Only a few streets over. Go up to your room and don't come down until it's safe. Your mother is running a delivery, and I'm going to go find her."
She was able to catch a brief sight of a figure on the muted TV, but her father pushed her up the stairs before she could see anything else. "Dad–"
"Don't leave your room," he said firmly, before bolting down towards the kitchen. Marinette watched him go, before hurrying back towards the TV, trying to get a look at the newest akuma that had been sent out.
"She looks human," Marinette said in surprise– the akuma on the screen dressed in purple. Granted, she was flying about and shooting beams of ice from her umbrella, but unlike the first two akumas she looked very much like a human.
"The Butterfly's champions can be pretty diverse," Plagg said dryly, coming out from her pocket, crinkling his nose. "Meh. I was hoping we could go a little longer before dealing with another one."
"Well, we don't really get a choice in this, do we?" Marinette said, looking down at her ring.
"Hey, kid, look at me," Plagg said, and she glanced up into the cat's burning green eyes. "I've been hearing what those news-people are saying– and no matter what you're told you cannot tell anyone your identity. Not the police or whoever they say. Not even Crimson, got it?"
"I know–"
"Yeah, and I know humans don't do well under pressure," Plagg sneered. "I'm the only one allowed to know who you are– got it?"
"I got it," she said, raising up her hand. "Plagg– claws out!"
"Hey ice queen!" Crimson Beetle called out to the akuma as she fired a wave of ice down at the civilians in the park– his voice causing her to stop. The girl turned, glaring up at him as a purple mask surrounded her face. "I hate to bug you, but how about you pick on someone your own size?"
He flicked his yoyo out a bit, giving the akuma a bit of a grin. Much to his relief those she had been targeting ran, now that the akuma's attention was on him. She scowled, gripping her umbrella tightly. "The name is Stormy Weather, insect!"
He grinned. "Seems like I've hit a sensitive spot, there. I didn't mean to crawl under your skin."
Stormy Weather merely glared at him, before lifting her umbrella– releasing a giant blast of wind at him. The gale hit him like a truck– sending him flying up into the air and down the street. A cry couldn't help but escape from his throat, but with his yoyo in hand he threw it, hoping that it would catch on something. He let out a grunt as the wire went taunt, pulling him from his fall, and he slowly let himself down.
A blur of black landed next to him, and he looked over to see Lady Noire by his side. She was panting slightly, blue eyes locked ahead on Stormy Weather, baton in hand. "The butterfly has to be in the umbrella, right?"
Crimson glanced at Stormy Weather as she made her way down the streets, shooting ice and wind from the tip of her umbrella. "Makes the most sense to me, don't think it'll be easy getting it from her though."
She nodded. "We'll... we'll figure something out, like last time. Then get out of here as fast as we can. Before... before any reporters show up."
He gave her a grim smile. "You've been seeing the reports, huh?"
"Kind of hard to miss them," she muttered as they took off running down the street, side by side.
"Don't worry about it, it will blow over soon enough," Crimson said, thoughts turning towards the publicity he had experienced in his life. Something would pop up, and with time it would die down as always. He gave Lady a grin. "Now let's take care of this akuma, I think her little airshow is nothing more than some hot air."
She stared at him. "...Really?"
His eyes gleamed. "Well, I ain't kitten around."
Lady Noire rolled her eyes, though a snort of a laugh escaped her. "Oh goodness, you're worse than my dad."
"So he's a man of quality, I see," Crimson said, spinning his yoyo about. "After you, m'lady."
He was glad to see that she wasn't as tense as when she had first arrived, her shoulders relaxed as she vaulted forward with her baton, and he threw his yoyo to swing after her. They didn't say much as they followed the icy trail of destruction in front of them, both focusing on using their powers to navigate. He was aware of people watching them from inside of buildings and on the streets, and Crimson made sure to give them a reassuring nod to let them know the situation was well in hand.
"She doesn't seem as insistent on claiming our Miraculous as the other two did," Crimson panted. They had spent the better part of an hour chasing after Stormy Weather– who refused to slow down her rampage. Every time they drew in close she would blast them away with a gale, block their path with an icy wall, or deter them with bursts of lightning.
Stormy Weather seemed to have favorite targets though– a local studio, their school, and any poster that featured Mireille's face on it. This was enough to clue Marinette in that the akumatized person was likely Aurore, a girl who had been in Marinette's class a few years ago. She had been running in some competition today, and had lost to Mireille. Apparently that was enough to allow Monarch to take control.
"Well at this rate she's going to have no trouble taking them with how she's wearing us down." Lady replied, eyes narrowed as she watched dark clouds form in the distance. "We can't just keep running after her, we need to come up with a plan."
She glanced at him, and Crimson rubbed the back of his neck. "Um... what if running after her was the plan?"
"We need to get in close without her noticing," Lady replied, scanning the streets. "Get close enough so we can engage without her just blocking our way. Once we're close you summon your Lucky Charm, and then we see if we can get the umbrella from her."
"What about your Cataclysm?" He asked, and she stiffed up slightly.
Lady forced herself to relax, giving him a small smile. "If we need it I'll use it, I guess. But it doesn't give us a tool like your power does."
"Yeah, but it's a tool in itself," he countered. "You didn't use it last time when you got caught in the wires."
"I'm– I'm sorry–"
Crimson's eyes widened slightly. "Whoa, I'm not blaming you for anything, Lady– it can be hard to remember that we have these powers." He smiled at her. "Now, do you have any ideas on how to get close?"
His green eyes sparkled, and she had no idea how he managed to remain so calm despite all that was happening. She swallowed, finding it hard to meet his gaze, so instead she looked at everything around them.
"We should try to stay out of sight," she finally said. "Enter that building and get up to the roof," she pointed with her baton. "It seems like she's not going anywhere, and if we can get on her level without her noticing then we should have a chance."
"Sounds like a plan, Stan!"
"We're not allowed to know names, but I can promise you that mine isn't Stan."
"Whatever you say, May."
She wasn't quite sure how he managed to keep making her laugh with the stakes so high, but that thought alone was comforting. They darted into an alleyway, hoping to stay out of sight as they moved in closer towards the akuma.
"Cataclysm!"
Marinette watched the footage from the news helicopter with a dry throat, watching as her masked self ran her hand down the side of the giant signs, allowing them to crumble down onto the unsuspecting Stormy Weather, who was tangled in a net that had been summoned from a Lucky Charm, her ankle wrapped with Crimson's yoyo wire.
"Dude," Nino said, watching as the energy of the Cataclysm continued to travel down the side of the building, cement and metal raining down onto the streets below in ashy hunks. The building began to groan from the missing support, swaying as the two heroes darted towards the akuma before she could escape. "That's just freaky."
"Not as bad as the stadium," Marinette whispered.
"Still, what if that rubble had hit a person?" Alix said, blowing a bubble with her gum. "I heard some cars were crushed by that rubble."
"What if that destructive energy had hit somebody?" Kim said with a cheesy grin, causing Rose to shudder from the row behind him, and Juleka put an arm around her. "Would they just crumble to ash as well? Just 'poof!', gone?"
Marinette's mouth was dry at the thought, and her hand with the ring tightened. She kept her eyes on the screen as she watched Crimson break the umbrella, sending his yoyo out at the escaping butterfly that had come from within. Though she had been there and knew what had happened, she didn't find herself relaxing until the Miraculous Ladybug was cast– the healing light spreading out across the city. There didn't seem to be a limit to what the light could do, fixing the building with ease, whisking the ice away without so much as a puddle of a trace or frost– all returning to it was before.
"It's just scientifically impossible!" Max protested next to Kim, seemingly watching the footage on his own computer. "The net just appears from nowhere– see, when I slow down the footage you can clearly see it appears from within the light, it's not being deployed from within the yoyo or anywhere else, just appearing out of thin air!"
"You're worrying about where the net came from when 'Stormy Weather' could literally fly and control the weather?" Nino asked, leaning back in his seat.
"I just want something to make sense!" Max cried.
"Aliens."
All eyes turned towards Alya, who was grinning.
"A-aliens?" Mylene squeaked.
"Yes, they're aliens," Alya said excitedly. "With technology beyond our own." She pulled out her phone, the screen showing she was on her new 'BeetleBlog'. "I don't know why they're here, but my theory is that 'Monarch' is a rogue of some kind, so Crimson Beetle and Lady Noire were sent here to stop her. Their names and costumes are based off of animals to attempt to blend in."
Adrien scratched the back of his head. "That's a very... bold theory."
Chloe snorted. "Exactly. Nothing but a ridiculous idea– utterly ridiculous."
"I... I didn't say that, Chlo, I just said it was bold," Adrien said. "Since we don't have a lot of information at the moment."
"Exactly," Chloe said, Sabrina nodding eagerly at her side. "Miss Four-eyes here just thinks that since her footage from the first attack was used that she's something special now. She just happened to be at the right place at the right time, that's all. Now all she has to offer is worthless ideas she's pulling from nowhere."
Adrien hesitated, all eyes on him as Chloe looked at him, clearly expecting him to agree with her. He pulled back a little bit, before closing his eyes. "I think that was unnecessary, Chloe."
The blonde smirked. "Well, so was Ollie-whatever throwing out her lame excuse of a 'theory' for no reason."
Adrien took in a deep breath. "If you don't agree with the theory, then just say so, but don't take it out on someone who didn't do anything to you."
"Excuse me? She kicked me out of my seat!"
"If I recall, you did that first," Adrien said, raising an eyebrow.
Chloe narrowed her eyes, but didn't seem to have a rebuttal to this. For a second Marinette thought she was going to say something nasty to Adrien, as she often did when cornered, or pull out her phone and call her dad, but instead she just turned away without a word. Which probably would have been seen as hostile coming from anyone else, but from Chloe it was surprisingly reasonable. The class stared at her in surprise, which earned them a glare from her in return.
"Don't stare at me, you peasants," she snapped, and everyone's gazes slowly pulled away.
"Teach me your ways, dude," Nino muttered. "Not getting eaten alive by Chloe? That's a first."
He shifted, looking uncomfortable, but still managed to give a small smile. "We're friends, and we can agree to disagree." He shifted again. "So, um, aliens, right? What do you think of the theory, Marinette? You've been quiet."
Marinette jumped, but Adrien seemed desperate for the focus to get off of him. She sat up a bit straighter, looking down at her phone as the footage of the battle against Stormy Weather played once more.
"I... I think anything's possible," she finally said– because as far as she knew it was. She could destroy anything with a single touch, and a talking cheese-loving cat was asleep in her bag right now. Who knew what else could be out there.
"Well, if Monarch is a rogue alien let's just hope she's the only one," Nathaniel said softly.
Kim was grinning. "Imagine if Lady Noire was the one to have gone rogue then? She could probably wreck the entire city in a night!"
Max pulled out his calculator. "Well, perhaps not the entire city in a single night," he mused. "There does seem to be some limits to their abilities, but with proper time..."
He trailed off, muttering math under his breath, which felt like an entirely different language. The conversation slowly shifted from there, though heroes remained a main topic. Marinette just pretended to be focused on her phone until class started, her thoughts racing.
She had only meant to collapse the sign– so why had the Cataclysm fallen out of her control again? Plagg had promised that she had control over it! Yet clearly that wasn't as true as he claimed.
"Hey girl, what's got you down?" Alya asked as the bell rang, ending class for the day.
"Just thinking about everything," she replied, forcing a smile.
"No need to be scared," Alya said, playfully bumping up against her. "We have Crimson Beetle here to protect us from... whatever is going on." Her eyes gleamed. "Though I'm ninety percent sure that it's aliens."
What if Plagg was an alien? He had never said where kwamis had come from– so what if Alya's right?
"I wouldn't be surprised," she replied.
"Hey! Agreste!"
"Oh no, not again," Marinette muttered, watching as Alix and Kim marched up towards Adrien before he could stand up to leave. She hurried from Alya's side, but the two were already in front of Adrien, questioning him before she got there. Nino was by his side, while Adrien glanced over them uncertainly.
"Can I help you?"
"Do you do anything else 'sides modeling?" Alix asked, crossing her arms.
"...Of course I do? There's more to life than my job?"
Kim rolled his eyes. "She means like something fun. Any sports? Hobbies aside from makeup and dress up?"
"I do fencing and basketball," Adrien said after a moment.
"Basketball?" Alix confirmed. "Perfect, that works. Me and Kim are going to be shooting hoops next weekend, so you come and join us, okay?"
"...What?"
Alix looked slightly frustrated. "You like basketball, don't you? So come play with us."
Adrien looked absolutely bewildered, looking at Nino in confusion, when a loud sigh was heard behind them. "They've finally realized that you're actually someone worth their time, Adrikins," Chloe said, pushing her way into the small group, glaring at Alix and Kim in distaste. "So in an attempt to make up for how horribly they treated you, they're inviting you to come play sports with them. As if running about and being sweaty would be worth your time–"
Adrien instantly perked up. "You want me to hang out with you? As friends?"
Alix seemed slightly taken back. "Um, yeah I guess? We were wrong about you, you're not as much as a jerk as Queenie here," she jerked a thumb at Chloe, who sneered back. "Figured we'd give you some real company instead of her."
"I believe the word you're looking for is 'sorry'" Marinette said, standing behind Kim and Alix. "If you're attempting to apologize then please make that clear."
Kim rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. What Mari said. We're sorry for how we treated you."
Adrien was beaming. "Don't worry about it, you were just trying to protect your classmates. And basketball sounds amazing, I might have to sneak out but–" He paused. "Crap, my bodyguard is waiting for me." He grabbed his bag, bolting for the door. "But yes! Basketball! I'll see you then! Thank you for inviting me!"
And with that he was gone, leaving the rest of the class gathered around his desk. Chloe snorted, tossing her ponytail as she turned. "If you so much as try to pull that crap you did on his first day again I'll make sure my Daddy hears about it." She snapped at Kim and Alix. "Come on, Sabrina, we have some shopping to do."
"Coming, Chloe!" Sabrina said, following her out of the classroom.
Alix stared at the door. "...What do you know, Chloe actually does have some heart. Huh."
"Also Adrien is literally a ray of sunshine," Alya said.
Everyone nodded in agreement, shouldering their bags as they headed out into the hallway.
